At least out here in the West, things has started out CRAZY. I mean that in a good, random way. Underdog teams are winning games (i.e: Clippers!!), favorite teams that should be winning games are dropping like flies!! (i.e: Memphis?) Some interesting facts during the first week or so around the NBA: Denver is 1-4. This is a team that's expected to be a strong contender for the playoff after the addition of Kmart, but they have performed disappointingly... Interestingly enough, their one and only win came from Minnesota??? The Kings are in danger of falling out of playoff contention, nevermind the championship. They haven't played well as a team (to nobody's surprise obviously, Cwebb's there), and their star shooter, Peja, is struggling to put the ball in. It's absolutely horrendous when you look at the box scores and see his shooting stats. Utah is flaming hot! I think they're a lock to become a playoff team this year after averaging over 100ppg in every single games that they've played (and won!) Lastly, the most important one :mrgreen:, the Clippers are actually over .500!!!! Anyways, I think the West is more wide open than people think. I'd go as far as to say that it's more so than the East. This means that the Rockets have a good chance (just as good as everybody else unfortunately) to make it into the playoffs and do well. I refuse to take the term "favorite" associated with any teams in the NBA here in the West. We've all seen the top teams from last year start out rough: Minny lost to Denver and is 2-2 while winning their games narrowly, Sac is 1-3, Spurs lost to Seattle, etc etc. Too many upsets, we should take advantage of this
Well, Phoenix and Utah started the season unbeaten, Sacramento started it 0-3, we started it 0-2, Denver started it 1-4. So, it seems now that some of the teams that were predicted to just fight for the playoffs have started their seasons on top of the league, while others which were supposed to be playoff locks started poorly. It is a wide open league, and we might not be as strong as we were projected to be. But at least we'll be able to make the playoffs.
OMG the CLIPS are over 500!!!..... lol Good observations. I would agree with you to a point. I think some teams in the west are overated. However it is still to early to count the Kings and Nuggets out, and the Spurs/Wolves will make the playoff (As long as thy dont suffer a major injury)
5 games into the season, you cant really tell much about a teams chances unless theyre getting blown out.
Exactly. Its been almost 2 weeks and you're already predicting who has a chance to make the playoffs? What the hell? What if the teams on a 4-0 run have a 12 game losing streak starting from now? What if teams like Memphis start a 12 game win streak? They just won their 1st game today, its possible. I hardly think the Western conference is wide open just because there are a few surprises. Every single season starts off with surprises. The rockets (in their awful years with Francis and NO Yao) would often start their seasons well and just start dropping bad losing streaks. I expect the same to happen to teams this season. I think the Raps will start losing soon enough, and Miami's going to drop a few games. These are eastern teams of course, but the same could happen with western teams like the Jazz(4-0) and the Sonics (3-1), who have young talent who are still playing incosistantly. Just one more thing, why is this in the Rockets forum?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dakeem1:</div><div class="quote_post">Exactly. Its been almost 2 weeks and you're already predicting who has a chance to make the playoffs? What the hell? What if the teams on a 4-0 run have a 12 game losing streak starting from now? What if teams like Memphis start a 12 game win streak? They just won their 1st game today, its possible. I hardly think the Western conference is wide open just because there are a few surprises. Every single season starts off with surprises. The rockets (in their awful years with Francis and NO Yao) would often start their seasons well and just start dropping bad losing streaks. I expect the same to happen to teams this season. I think the Raps will start losing soon enough, and Miami's going to drop a few games. These are eastern teams of course, but the same could happen with western teams like the Jazz(4-0) and the Sonics (3-1), who have young talent who are still playing incosistantly. Just one more thing, why is this in the Rockets forum?</div> These are just speculations, do you mind? Geez, it's not like I'm pointing a gun to your head and telling you to believe who's gonna make the playoffs per my post. The only team I predicted to make it to the playoffs is Utah, and that's semi-jokingly. I wrote that post in high spirit because the NBA started out with so many surprises, upsets, drama, or what have you. That excites me, as a fan. Am I comitting a crime here? In your own words, "what the hell?" If a team starts having a 12 game streak, it is very possible that alot of people will be doubting them to make the playoffs, albeit they might add a little note "it's still early though in the season, they might have a chance to make it". If a team starts winning 12 in a row, alot of people will be predicting them to make the playoffs, why wouldn't they make those predictions? I don't see the point of you presenting those questions there. Are you trying to be rhetorical negatively? Cause sports analysts and NBA fans alike will be making the exact same predictions I'm making based on those respective streaks. You mentioned that the West is hardly wide open because of a few surprises. Ok, so why is it that the West is wide open? (I hope you assume it's wide open, because let me tell you, it is.) And these games mean nothing? A Utah Jazz team averaging 100 points in their 4-0 run, doing this with their roster right now, means nothing? Anyways, all you had to do is post something like "I think it's too early in the season to predict who's gonna make it to the playoffs" or something along those lines. Or you can just not be a jackass and just post constructive comments without "what the hell"-ing the other person. Just one more thing, I posted this in the Rockets forum just to see what you guys have to say about the wide open league with respect to the Rockets. Cheer our team on, post your optimistic opinion, your pessimistic opinion, whatever. Is there a problem with this? What the hell?
